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Hillary Clinton’s campaign questioned FBI director James Comey’s unprecedented decision to step into the middle of the presidential race just days before the election, as polls showed her lead over Donald Trump narrowing.

The Clinton camp said it was “puzzled” by Mr Comey's “unprecedented” decision to announce in a short, vague letter to congressional leaders that the FBI was reviewing additional emails that may be linked to Mrs Clinton. A series of leaks from the bureau have revealed that the justice department told Mr Comey the letter violated protocol meant to avoid influencing elections, the emails may not have been sent or received by Mrs Clinton, the FBI may not yet even actually have access to the emails, and that they were discovered on a laptop shared by disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife, Mrs Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin.

Mr Comey, a Republican appointee who had come under fire from his own party when he said that Mrs Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state did not merit prosecution, is now being criticised for potentially tipping the election in favour of his party’s nominee — by Democrats and Republicans alike. Richard W Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under Republican George W Bush, wrote in the New York Times that he had filed a complaint against the FBI for violating the Hatch Act, which bars government officials from influencing elections. (FT, NYT, Yahoo, WaPo, WSJ)

GMO crops may not be all they’re cracked up to be Opposition to genetically-modified crops has long focused on unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat. But an examination of data from GMO-rejecting Europe and GMO-embracing North America reveals a more basic problem: GM crops have not boosted crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemicals and pesticides. (NYT)

Russia prepares for deep budget cuts Moscow is preparing to slash government spending across the board over the next three years as it struggles to bring down a budget deficit swollen by lower oil prices and recession. Deep cuts are looming for health, education and even defence — which is slated for a swingeing 27 per cent reduction in expenditure next year, according to a draft budget the government submitted to parliament late on Friday. (FT)

South Korean protests demand resignation of president Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Seoul on Saturday, demanding the ouster of Park Geun-hye amid an escalating corruption and influence-peddling scandal. Many South Koreans are angry after it emerged this week that a long-time friend to the country’s leader had been given access to confidential government documents, including first drafts of policy speeches, and allegedly used her links to the presidency for financial gain. (FT)

Taiwan may pass first Asian same-sex marriage law President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday voiced support for same-sex marriage, significantly boosting the chances of the island becoming the first in Asia to champion marriage equality. (NAR)

A pirate’s life for Iceland The island nation’s prime minister resigned on Sunday after the anti-establishment Pirate Party rode a wave of anger over corruption to win the second-most seats in the country’s general election. (NYT, FT)

It’s a big day for

Ukip Nominations for the party's second leadership election in three months close on Monday, for the role that Nigel Farage vacated after the EU referendum, and his successor MEP Diane James left 18 days later. The three frontrunners — Paul Nuttall, Raheem Kassam and Suzanne Evans — have all said they will seek to secure Mr Farage a seat in the House of Lords if they win. (Telegraph)

Keep up with the important business, economic and political stories in the coming days with the FT’s WeekAhead.

Food for thought

That time Donald Trump crashed an Aids charity event In 1996, the Republican nominee showed up uninvited to the ribbon cutting of a New York nursery school serving children with Aids, took someone’s seat on the dais and generally played the part of a major donor as the organisers looked on helplessly. He hadn’t donated a dime — and he left without writing a cheque. It was just one instance in a long career Mr Trump has spent touting himself as a major philanthropist while not actually donating much, or often any, of his own money. (WaPo)

In the future, everyone will get hacked in 15 minutes Andrew McGill built a fake web toaster — it was hacked within in an hour. The things of the internet of things are going to destroy the internet. (Atlantic)

Glued to the TV on election night 1960 Watching the returns come in during the ultra-tight race between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon, where coverage revealed some of the growing pains of early TV news. (NYT)

Video of the day

A look at the week ahead Daniel Garrahan highlights some of the big stories this week, including Mario Draghi’s five years as president of the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting and third-quarter earnings at Shell and BP. (FT)